Selected germanate glass systems with robust physical features for radiation protection material use.

This study aimed to examine the radiation shielding capabilities of four distinct germanate glass systems with compositions of TeO 2 -GeO 2 -ZnO, B 2 O 3 -GeO 2 -Eu 2 O 3 -R 2 O 3 (where R Y, La and Gd), Li 2 O–Sb 2 O 3 - GeO 2 -XO (where X = Pb, Zn, Ba, Sr and Ca) and Li 2 O-GeO 2 -PbO-Nd 2 O 3 at different photon energies ranging from 0.015 to 10 MeV respectively. The present study involved the determination of mass attenuation coefficients (MAC), effective atomic number (Z eff), and half value layer for four distinct germanate glass systems. The influence of chemical composition, sample density, and photon energy on these parameters was also discussed. The findings indicate that the substitution of TeO 2 with ZnO leads to a reduction in the values of both the mass attenuation coefficient (MAC) and the effective atomic number (Z eff) in the glasses composed of TeO 2 -GeO 2 -ZnO. Furthermore, it has been discovered that within the B 2 O 3 -GeO 2 -Eu 2 O 3 -R 2 O 3 glass system, the highest values of MAC are observed in the glass containing Gd 2 O 3. The sample that contained PbO exhibited the highest MAC and Z eff values among the Li 2 O–Sb 2 O 3 -GeO 2 -XO glass systems. Furthermore, the findings of this study indicate that the glass specimen containing CaO exhibits the least values of MAC and Z eff within the given system. The findings indicate that the values of MAC in the Li 2 O-GeO 2 -PbO-Nd 2 O 3 glass system exhibit an upward trend with the rise in Nd 2 O 3 concentration from 0 to 2 mol%. • Radiation shielding characteristics of various GeO 2 glasses have been studied. • XCOM program were studied at several photon energies between 0.015 and 10 MeV. • Gamma photons absorption capacity increases when density of the sample increases. • High density glasses promising effective radiation shielding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]